Writing Commercially

The commercial writer must extract significant information and support it with the minimum-necessary argument. His or her expertise is to remove irrelevancies and focus upon important points.

Establish the aim

Every document must have a single aim. Decide what information is necessary. Extract relevant facts and state them precisely and concisely. State your aim by the end of the first paragraph.

Consider the reader

What they already know affects what you can leave out.
What they need to know determines what you include.
What they want to know suggests the order and emphasis of your writing.

Devise the structure

The power of writing is derived from order and clarity. Structure presents the reader with accessible information. You must provide it in manageable chunks, and use structure to maintain the context. Diagrams are often better than text, conveying some information more effectively, and assisting in data analysis and interpretation.

Draft the text, edit and revise

Check the document for clarity and effectiveness. The time will be well spent.

Writing Effective White Papers

Outline

Define the target audience / market and the purpose of the white paper. It is to establish authority on a topic, or create awareness of an upcoming issue, or help buyers differentiate the company from the competition. Define the message the white paper is going to deliver and why anyone would want to read it.

Content
Current industry problems/trends: Begin with a description of the broadest issues in the industry, then discuss specific attributes of the solution.
Technology: Description of the technology. How the service or business model works.
Visual appeal: Add graphics and charts to break the monotony of reading and to aid understanding.
Summary: A brief summing up of the paper's contents

Sales Opportunities

White papers create sales opportunities very fast. If you know your product / customers, they will want to read your white paper, particularly when you write about a niche industry/service. They work best if you have a unique product. White papers are strategic sales documents, so an experienced writer must coordinate the resources. Start with one article. Choose the easiest subject matter, which will generate the most interest. Use a light conversational style. Make sure it's clear, concise, and relevant. The article promotes your product/services; the sales angle hidden in the useful information provided to your prospective client. Useful white papers build credibility. Always include a section with your contact information. Get a reliable person to check the grammar and spelling.

Building your Brand

A business with a well-defined market can brand build in a sensible way and accomplish marketing goals. Branding is about reputation. A well-created brand will instantly tell a person why they should deal with you rather than your competition. Saturate your target market with your message. Your audience must hear your message from a variety of sources. Using different media is the most effective way to build your brand. Every market can be reached inexpensively.

Writing for the Web

Anyone trusted with transforming source material to the web will have considered the quantity and presentation of the material. Recent research points out that users prefer to scan webpages.

These guidelines apply :

Reduce the word count as much as possible. Short, snappy pages are read more.
Keep one idea per paragraph. This makes it easy to read and navigate.
Use bullet lists, bold text and sub-headings to highlight the main points.
Use an "inverted pyramid" style so that the main points are the top of the page and the rest of the story sits underneath it.
White space presents the text more clearly.
Visitors will read one or two pages of your site. It’s critical that you catch their attention immediately.
Readers are under pressure to find content quickly, so information that can be skimmed over will attract returning readers.

Conclusion

A well-written, properly constructed white paper is an invaluable, multi-purpose tool. It provides clear, concise information to your target audience, and can be used in a variety of media. It tells the reader why you are superior to others in the field. This can lead to immediate recognition of your brand name, resulting in increased sales of your product / service. It also assists better understanding of current trends in the industry by both reader and writer.